Innholdsfortegnelse for 16-May-2018 i Shooting Times & Country

Uncharacteristically, I recently went on a foreign holiday. It’s not that I have any great aversion to lying by an azure sea, getting sunburnt, while drinking daiquiris, it’s that I’d rather spend my precious days off chasing geese in the Hebrides or casting a fly in Dumfriesshire. On day two of my Grecian retreat, while hacking a path through the undergrowth in search of a bar someone had mentioned, I stumbled upon a few rusty cartridges. Later that evening, while ordering another round of Mythos, I asked the barmaid about why they might have been there. “For woodcock,” she replied. “Some people like to hunt.” Returning to the table, I pulled my phone out my pocket and searched for “woodcock shooting, Zakynthos”. It’s wonderful when you discover a world and…

19-20 MAY ROYAL WELSH AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY SPRING FESTIVAL Royal Welsh Showground, Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, Powys rwas.wales/spring-festival/ 20 MAY GAME & WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST ROD, DOG & GUN DAY Dyffryn Springs, Nr Cardiff Tel 07768 232334 27-28 MAY HIGHCLERE COUNTRY SHOW Highclere Castle, Newbury, Berkshire highclerecountryshow.co.uk 27-28 MAY BURGHLEY GAME & COUNTRY FAIR Burghley House, Stamford, Lincs burghleygameandcountryfair.co.uk 16-17 JUNE KELMARSH COUNTRY SHOW Kelmarsh Hall, Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire kelmarshcountryshow.co.uk…

Firearms licensing In response to Home Office proposals regarding licensing, the chairman of BASC, Peter Glenser QC, and the BASC political team met members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Shooting and Conservation from both Houses to discuss future action. Home Office proposals include plans to introduce charges for medical checks on applicants and certificate holders, and fee increases. BASC is considering legal remedies if legislation that damages shooting is enacted. Schools clay day Six schools took part in the William Powell Schools Clay Shooting Competition on 2 May at the Oxfordshire Shooting School. The competition was made up of a 60-bird Sporting layout shot over eight stands and included a 60-bird team flush. High Gun was Archie Osborne with a score of 54 out of 60. Hannah Whitaker…

I was horrified to read Mr Wootton, in his role as a lowly beater, had had the temerity to not only address a Gun out of turn but actually rebuke the poor fellow to boot (Letters, 2 May). I assume he was sent home immediately with a flea in his ear and the distressed Gun suitably mollified. Etiquette demands that beaters should only speak to their betters if addressed first and then only, while doffing their cap, to wish the Gun a “good morning, sir”. In the embarrassing event of a Gun peppering one of the plebs, it is not the place of one of his colleagues to respond. If it is a young Gun and his loader is familiar with him — one of his father’s servants perhaps —…

Toyota Hilux: The world’s best-selling 4x4, but still sits on leaf springs at the rear. Nissan Navara: Double-cab pickup; not the cheapest, but great off-road. Mitsubishi L200: Another 4x4 pickup; rather truck-like. Isuzu D-Max: Basic workhorse from as little as £15,749 new. Volkswagen Amarok: European pickup to rival those Japanese 4x4s. Expensive, but car-like feel. Remember that few 4x4s enjoy the longevity – and country cred – of Land Rovers. Spare parts and service costs are also much cheaper.…

It is a question every shooting man has asked himself during hours of mental debate in hot baths, the answer to which defines him as a sportsman and stands as his legacy: the last day’s shooting he would choose if he had to. My choice is wide. I do hold one shooting record that sums up the eclectic nature of my shooting career: it is not possible to have a longer game shooting season on our islands than starting with a ptarmigan in the Scottish Highlands on 12 August and ending with a wigeon on 20 February on an Essex saltmarsh. My game book records classic Hampshire driven days; North Devon pheasants so high they seem to be coming out of the grey clouds; awesome partridges shot from flat-bottomed valleys…

Apologies if you have already read this, but I have Just been alerted to a story in The Times that the breed of dog blamed for the most dog attack claims in the UK is the Labrador. This doesn’t surprise me at all, despite the fact that almost all the Labradors I have met have been big softies, without any hint of aggression. However, Labradors are so popular that there are a lot of them around. With the Labrador population so high, there is bound to be the odd one that is aggressive or overly protective. If it is only 0.05 per cent of the total UK Labrador population, that is still quite a few dogs. You are unlikely to be surprised that German shepherds and Staffordshire bull terriers are…

BILL HARRIMAN BASC’s head of firearms and global authority on guns MAT MANNING Airgunner and journalist from the West Country BRUCE POTTS Shooting Times rifle reviewer and stalker DAVID TOMLINSON Highly regarded writer and ornithologist LIAM BELL NGO chairman, Shropshire gamekeeper and keen wildfowler GRAHAM DOWNING Shooting consultant and sporting author PAUL RAWLINGS Gundog expert and A-panel spaniel judge CHRIS DE CANI Riverkeeper, with specialist knowledge of chalkstreams TONY BUCKWELL Veterinary surgeon with a special interest in gundogs TONY JACKSON A game Shot, keen stalker and former editor of Shooting Times TOM PAYNE Professional shooting instructor and avid pigeon shooter SIMON WHITEHEAD Author, professional ferreter and rabbit controller IAIN WATSON Keen stalker and senior CIC international trophy judge Contact the team Email: stanswers@timeinc.com By post: Shooting Times,…

The handsome, high-stepping hackney was developed in Norfolk, with trotting horses from Yorkshire introduced to improve the breed’s style and speed. Originally riding horses, they set some impressive distance records: in 1820 one stallion trotted 17 miles in an hour, carrying a 14-stone man. As roads improved, hackneys became popular as carriage horses, where they were valued for their stamina, elegance and smart appearance. The Hackney Horse Society was formed in Norwich in 1883 and still flourishes today, with HRH the Prince of Wales as its patron. The breed itself, however, is rated as critical by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The Society holds two shows a year. The first is at Ardingly, West Sussex, in early June; the second at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, in October.…

We all know that animal rights activism has an ugly side, sometimes amounting to terrorism. But there are also a lot of people who genuinely care about animal welfare and get caught up in the animal rights world at some point. Some are gentle folk who simply happen to have got the wrong end of the stick. You and I might call them misguided, but they are entitled to their view. Mind you, holding a strong and sincere opinion doesn’t necessarily justify so-called “direct action”. This is especially the case if you know that the direct action in question will amount to intimidation or criminal activity. Yet for youngsters, at any rate, it might be unfair to pigeonhole them simply because they once did something rather stupid. Which of us…

RESPOND It is time to complete the 2018 National Rural Crime Survey. Do you think rural crime has risen or decreased? Do you feel more or less safe? What do you think of your local police? Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, commented: “I hope that anyone living or working in a rural community will spare a few minutes to complete this survey. It will provide a clear picture of what has improved, what challenges remain and what more Government, police forces and organisations can do to support the most isolated parts of the country.” The survey is open until Sunday, 10 June, and can be found online at po.st/natcrime . MONEY BASC members should check to see when their car insurance is due for renewal…

1 Rifleman pants RRP £169 www.swazi.co.nz Made from Aegis ultralight Strata fabric, these trousers are easy to pull over your boots. They are also totally waterproof and windproof, plus incredibly lightweight — the large size weighs just 264g. They’ll keep you warm and dry without adding bulk. 2 Schöffel Islington women’s gilet RRP £159.95 www.schoffel.co.uk Schöffel’s quilted gilet features rib knit side panels for a flattering fit, along with a high ribbed collar for easy gun mount. It has a two-way front zip with hidden poppers and two exterior pockets with zips. Available in sizes 8 to 20. 3 Cordings cartridge bag RRP £199 www.cordings.co.uk Smart and practical in Cordings house check, this cartridge bag has a fully adjustable shoulder strap. Fully lined in cotton twill, it also has attractive…

At last, after endless rain, Saturday dawned bright and blue. With chiffchaffs singing, a couple of swallows on the telegraph wires and the first three house martins inspecting the nests under the eaves, it finally felt like spring. It was also a wonderful day for my two boys, Stuart and Peter, to go keepering with me on the little shoot across the road at Manor Farm. Some would say that at 1,000 acres, what we run is not little, but the shoot itself really is very modest. If you do my job as a Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust game management adviser, then running a “proper” shoot would be a busman’s holiday, so ours is a genuine attempt to produce a harvest of wild game. With no pens and no…

If you think you have seen a lesser spotted woodpecker, you probably haven’t. Almost every black-and-white woodpecker in the UK is great spotted, a species that is big, bold and very much at home on our garden bird feeders. There are nearly five times as many great spotted woodpeckers as there were 50 years ago but lesser spotted woodpeckers have been quietly disappearing from large parts of England and Wales, the only countries of the UK where they are seen. A lesser spotted woodpecker is tiny; it is the size of a sparrow but weighs less. We’re talking shy and delicate, not noisy and imposing like the great spotted woodpecker. One pair, or sometimes two, used to nest in the nature reserve that abutted the school I went to in…

Cuckoos returned on 19 April. The first bird has called on that date for the past five years and the level of dedication to the 19th is becoming uncanny. We have good numbers of cuckoos here in Galloway and I can’t help thinking they are on the increase. Despite massive declines elsewhere in the country, Scotland’s cuckoo population is holding strong and the birds provide a chiming backdrop to spring. It is easy to call the birds with a bit of practice and there is a knack to blowing across your hands to replicate that breezy, soft sound. Well hidden in the heather one morning, I called in five male cuckoos, which circled round in a state of high excitement. They soon fell to fighting with one another and some…

Latin name: Laburnum anagyroides Common name: Common laburnum Other names: Golden rain, golden chain, bean tree How to spot it and where to find it: A tall tree, common laburnum is easily identified by its bright yellow hanging racemes — clusters of separate flowers attached by short stalks at equal distances along a central stem. A native of central and southern Europe, laburnum was introduced into the UK in 1560 and often planted in parks and gardens. It is now considered naturalised and is widespread, particularly throughout England. Interesting facts: Laburnum is a member of the pea family, as is wisteria, which its pendulous and prolific flowers resemble in shape, though not in colour. It produces its hanging bunches of blooms in May and June, some of them reaching 25cm…

A large majority of the population fails to realise that conservation work occurs on shooting estates because of the financial input directed on to the area due to having a game shoot. Take the shoot out of the equation and the only other option to help benefit wildlife comes through limited environmental schemes. Landowners need a financial incentive or a shared interest to enforce all of the habitat changes to their grounds; these are their businesses and livelihoods and ultimately they need to make a living from the land. A section of our estate is under Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) and Entry Level Stewardship agreements, which are funded by the Government to provide a greater habitat matrix for wildlife and birds. Grass margins, over-wintered stubble, hedge management and wild bird…

 IT’S A LITTLE MORE THAN two years since the mandatory microchipping of dogs became law, something that the British Veterinary Association, the Kennel Club and Dogs Trust had been campaigning for for many years. It is now your responsibility as the owner of a dog to make sure that your animal is microchipped and registered on one of the authorised commercial databases. “The situation isn’t helped by the fact that there are so many databases” If a dog is sold or rehomed, the new owner’s details have to be recorded on the database and any change in the dog’s name must also be noted. Breeders are also required to microchip puppies before they go to their new home. If a puppy you buy hasn’t been microchipped, you should find out…

This time of the year is incredibly tricky for pigeon shooters, with many left twiddling their thumbs as they wait for the next opportunity to target the wily woodies over laid crops in June. While it is undoubtedly a tough period in the pigeon shooting calendar, it can also be a fruitful one if you are prepared to put the time in, focus on overlooked crops and do plenty of reconnaissance — the core skill of the pigeon shooter. There may be outings within your grasp that you have either overlooked or not realised the potential of, or perhaps you have shut up shop until a more familiar situation arises. This is not the time for laziness — time and persistence in your reconnaissance will pay off. Types of crops…

New puppy: kennel or house? GUNDOG TRAINING Q I have trained a couple of gundogs — a springer and a Labrador — in the past. They were both great out on their own with me rough shooting and wildfowling but both were cautious around other people and dogs. I was advised to kennel them as puppies to make the training easier, but I think this made them wary of others. I am now taking up shooting again after a break of several years and want to get another Labrador puppy to train. Would it be better raised in the house, so it meets more people, or will that make training harder? A It is not so much where your puppy will be housed but more to do with its socialisation…

Pied wagtails nest in the strangest of places; they don’t seem to notice any difference between a hole in a wall and the engine of a rarely used Land Rover, for instance. This is the traditional time of year to hear about farm vehicles being put out of action because a pied wagtail has laid a clutch of three to seven grey and spotted eggs in it. Fields with livestock, muck heaps, filter beds and sewage works are all great places to search for insects, so it is not surprising that these delightful birds, with their ever-wagging tails, seem to be at home in places where people work. If you are scolded by a pied wagtail when going about your business, it may be worth trying to discover where its…